Mark Cuban, founder of Broadcast.com and HDNet, knows a bit about online video, and he had an interesting exchange with NewTeeVee where he explains why Netflix should be worried: This is the “I told you streaming works great ” example everyone uses. It’s a great example of what streaming on TV c...

In a word: Yes.
In more than a word: The moment you make it far easier and way less cost prohibitive to pirate movies, the choice becomes clear. Netflix having on time New Releases gave lazy, cheap people a legitimate option to watch new movies.
Does anyone really think that after going years without having to leave their house or pay more than their normal Netflix subscription fee, that suddenly leaving the house to pay exorbitant prices is going to beat out three clicks for free?
Movie companies need a reality check.

Crunchgear reports that Avatar, currently unavailable from Netflix and Redbox, will probably gain the honor of being the most pirated Blu-ray disc of all time. The film has been downloaded, according to TorrentFreak (which I trust implicitly, by the way, good guys over there), more than 200,000...

Netflix's competitors have been busy: Redbox has agreed to a 28-day DVD release window with Fox & Universal, starting this week with Avatar. via paidContent. The LA Times reports that Hulu is close to offering a $9.95 per month subscription with more content called Hulu Plus. ReadWriteWeb broke...

"They never claimed to be a new release company anyways."
They didn't? Their front page begs to differ: "Classics, New Releases, & TV Episodes" is what they advertise. Shut up.
It's not childish whining to criticize a service for doing something negative to their service. On the other hand, whining about people criticizing Netflix actually IS childish whining.
Netflix WAS a great deal. With each of these studio agreements, it becomes less of a great deal. That's a legitimate complaint.
As for supplementing Netflix with Redbox, that costs me more money per month. I pay Netflix a subscription fee to satisfy all my movie needs. If I need to spend money from another service, that means I take money I budgeted to Netflix to do so.
And yes, I'm increasingly considering scaling back my membership to the 1 disc unlimited streaming.

Reuters is reporting that Netflix has signed streaming deals with Twentieth Century Fox & Universal Studios that will delay new releases from both studios 28 days. Netflix recently signed a similar deal with Warner Bros., and expects these deals to enable better availability of new releases at a...

Let's see. In exchange for having to wait a whole extra month for new releases (yeah, I'm one of those INSANE people that actually mostly watches new releases from Netflix, I'm absolutely CRAZY), I'm supposed to get:
1. Increased availability: Not really though. Those WB discs were on "Long wait" for longer than most others.
2. More streaming: WHERE? *looks under rock*
The most believable part of these deals is the increased streaming, but if that's the case, what is the point in using anything above the 1 disc unlimited streaming plan? Nothing.
Also, the Starz Play programming looks horrendous. I had no other place to vent this. I still have nightmares about it.

Reuters is reporting that Netflix has signed streaming deals with Twentieth Century Fox & Universal Studios that will delay new releases from both studios 28 days. Netflix recently signed a similar deal with Warner Bros., and expects these deals to enable better availability of new releases at a...

I know you're probably sick of news about the iPad, but Netflix's Steve Swasey posted an interesting bit about streaming on the iPhone and iPod Touch on the Netflix blog: "Steve Swasey, VP of Corporate Communications, here. Terrific response to our news today about Netflix on the iPad. For those...

Update: I spoke with Netflix's Steve Swasey about the iPad, and he would only say the following on the record: "Today is April Fools Day, tomorrow is Good Friday, and let's see what Saturday will bring." Hmm.. I've been watching this story from App Advice develop, wondering if it was an elaborat...

Blockbuster today announced that they have signed a deal with Warner Bros. that will give them a 28 day lead on Netflix and Redbox for new releases. "This new agreement reflects our strategy to be the only multi-channel provider for movies. We are excited to offer our customers the best home en...

And that is exactly what the studios are hoping for. All they see are potential DVD/Bluray sales instead of rentals as greater profit.
If Blockbuster goes out of business, expect movie content piracy to skyrocket (and ironically, sales to actually slump as methods to facilitate that piracy get easier due to larger user base).

Blockbuster filed a 10-K today that warns of a possibly bankruptcy filing (it mentions the word Bankruptcy 17 times). From the filing: Our ability to obtain future financing or to sell assets could be adversely affected because a very large majority of our assets have been secured as collateral...

Update: Engadget has a video of the Windows 7 Netflix app demo, and at this point it looks like it's just a prototype they built as a proof of concept. It's still interesting to finally see Netflix streaming on a phone. Engadget reports that Netflix streaming will be available on Windows 7 ...

The Time Traveler's Wife, the latest Waner Bros. release to be made available after a 28 delay, is on "Long Wait" one day after release. One of the reasons Netflix did the deal with Warner Bros. to delay new releases was to make sure they had enough copies on release, but it looks like they're s...

They never really dropped late fees.
They just gave you a longer rental period. Then they charged you full price for the movie and let you keep it. Of course, you could still return it within 30 days and all it would cost you is a "restocking fee".
Excuse me if I don't accept a glass of Blockbuster brand "Lemonade". They don't seem to really understand how to call things what they really are.

Home Media Magazine reports that Blockbuster will be bringing back late fees as of March 1st. Rentals are now $4.99 for 5 days, with a $1 per day late fee up to $10. Blockbuster's Metzger on the change: "“This is not a late fee. This is an additional daily rate and if the customer is choosing t...

Between these delayed releases and about half the movies in the first ten slots of my queue now having Long Wait status, what's the point of Netflix anymore? Using it to catch up on TV shows they have streaming?

Click here for the full list of new releases this week (56). Interesting titles include Motherhood, Everybody's Fine, Cirque du Freak: The Vampire's Assistant, The Damned United, Swedish Auto, Double Identity, The September Issue, The End of the Line, FlashForward: Season 1: Part 1, Nurse Jackie...